A guide to The Learning Spy

The summer holidays are here and tomorrow I'm foolishly attempting to drive to Corsica in a 1979 Campervan. That being the case, there will be no time for writing. So, to satisfy your desire for top quality blog posts (ahem) on all things educational, here is a thematic archive of the posts I've written over the past 2 years.

See you in a month!

Literacy

Thinking like a writer - advice on improving writing skills  4th June 2013 Does dyslexia exist? 26th May 2013 - this upset a lot of people Magic glasses and Meares-Irlen syndrome 27th May 2013 The Matthew Effect: why literacy is so important 30th September 2012 - it just is How to get students to value writing - 31st December 2012 Developing oracy - it's talkin' time - 29th December 2012 The mathematics of writing 30th October 2012 - an attempt to make teaching sentence structure more logical Some thoughts on silent reading 1st July 2012 Slow writing 12th May 2012- how slowing down can improve your writing How should we teach reading? 29th February 2012 - eflections on EB Hirsch and DT Willingham Does creativity need rules? 20th November 2011 - Yes, I think it does Is grammar glamorous?16th November 2011 - musings about the importance of grammar Reading should be our top priority 28th September 2011 - Roy Blatchford's article on the importance of reading A return to guided reading 11th July 2011 - revisiting the 'reading strategies' Mind your language - 29th March 2013 - a language based approach to pedagogy The effect of 'affect' on the learning and performance of literacy 24th February 2013

The Teaching Sequence for developing independence

Independence vs independent learning 20th June 2013 Great teaching happens in cycles 24th June 2013 Stage 1: Explain 26th June 2013 Stage 2: Model 30th June 2013 Stage 3: Scaffold 2nd July 2013 Stage 4: Practise  4th July 2013

Planning

Planning lessons - lessons I've learned about how to plan lessons 9th June 2013 Anatomy of an Outstanding Lesson 22nd January 2013 Go with the flow - the two minute lesson plan 17th November 2012 Redesigning a curriculum - 25th Mach 2013 The best laid schemes of work and learning 6th September 2012 - thoughts on planning Planning a 'perfect' lesson 30th June 2012 - a dash of irony required

and

The problem with progress Part 1 - Performance vs Learning 12th February 2013 The problem with progress Part 2 - Designing a curriculum for learning 14th February 2013 The problem with progress Part 3 - Designing lessons for learning 16th February 2013

Stuff I've tried myself in lessons

Teacher talk - the missing link May 18th 2013 - it's about quality not quantity Icebergs, taking risks and being outstanding 11th February 2013- a guide for getting an outstanding judgement Improving peer feedback with public critique 8th February 2013 Building challenge: differentiation that's quick and works 19th January 2013 Effective group work 12th January 2013 Building anticipation... 11th January 2013 - getting students to look forward to your lessons without dumbing down Total Teaching; every lesson is group work 27th October 2012 Outstanding teaching & learning - missed opportunities and marginal gains 14th October 2012 Project Based Learning: I did it my way 23rd September 2012 - my personal spin on PBL The art of failing 6th July 2012 - building resilience Building Resilience: Sir, I'm stuck 5th May 2012 - tips & tricks to make students more resilient Shakespeare, SOLO taxonomy and taking risks (Part 1) 26th May 2012 - preparations for an interview lessons Shakespeare, SOLO taxonomy and taking risks (Part 2) 2nd June 2012 - reflections after getting the job Say What? Reflecting on spoken language - 3rd April 2012 The ultimate teaching technique 14th February 2012 - it's jigsawing! How effective learning hinges on good questioning 4th February 2012 - hinge questions and how they work Hexagonal Learning 28th January 2012- using hexagons with SOLO Using Learning Continuums 11th July 2011 - basically, a fancy type of differentiated learning objective Getting to grips with PLTS 11th July 2011 - some thoughts on embedding the personal learning and thinking skills in schemes of work So, what are learning spies? 11th July 2011- getting students to observe each other Zooming in and out 11th July 2011 - a technique for explaining how to get A&A* grades out of students in English The Learning Loop 12th July 2011 and Rebooted: the Learning Loop 23rd October 2011 - a skills based scheme of learning Learning journeys 21st September 2011- visual learning objectives Hula-hooping about literature 16th July 2011 and Rip it up and start again 14th July 2011- on reading Dancing About Architecture Forget the answer, what's the question? 24th September 2011 - QFT (question formulation technique) Going SOLO 5th October 2011 - Solo taxonomy Do It Yourself 5th September 2011 - Kenny Pieper's post on Sugata Mitra's child driven education... More DIY learning 6th September - ...and my own rip off Why do I need a teacher if I've got Google and a granny? 4th December 2011 - further thoughts on Sugata Mitra's research 50 Ways to lead your lesson 9th October 2011 - an attempt to use 50 different ways of introducing learning objectives in 50 lessons (it didn't work) Objective Quest - Day 2 11th October 2011 Objective Quest - Day 3 12th October 2011 Objective Quest - Day 4 13th October 2011 Objective Quest - Day 5 18th October 2011 Teaching texting 23rd August 2011

Then there's posts on general educational themes

How can we retain the best teachers? 20th July 2013 When lesson observations go wrong - the need to reclaim our professional expertise 12th July 2013 Testing & assessment - have we been doing the right things for the wrong reasons? More on 'desirable difficulties' 16th June 3013 So, what does 'gifted' mean anyway? A response to Ofsted's 'More able' report 14th June 2013 Deliberately difficult - why it might be better to make learning harder 10th June 2013 The Grand Unified Theory of Mastery (more musings on Grit & Flow) 10th March 2013 Grit vs Flow - what's better for learning? 4th March 2013 Knowledge is power 21st October 2012- why you can't just look stuff up The GCSE fiasco - why shouldn't all have prizes? 2nd September 2012 The need for 'Why To' guides 7th June 2012 - a discussion on why we need to much away from the 'how to' culture in education Is SOLO a waste of time? 4th June 1012 - Spolier: NO What to know - the importance of cultural capital 4th April 2012 Are worksheets a waste of time? 4th April 2012 Myths: what Ofsted want 17th March 2012 - do they even know? When independent learning meets high stakes success 3rd October 2012 - the problem with exams Are teacher observations a waste of time? 24th February 2012 - maybe we should just observe students? Learning objectives and why we need 'em 18th February 2012 - weighing in on the side of the 'umble LO Who inspects Ofsted? 5th February 2012 - who indeed? What is learning? 8th January 2012 - on reading Graham Nuthall's The Hidden Lives of Learners What is good behaviour? 1st January 2012 - it's not just following instructions - also on GTN Is it better to be told or to discover a fact? 22nd January 2012 - didactic vs discovery learning What's deep learning and how do you do it? 11th September 2011 - Tempering Geoff Petty with a dash of Dan Willingham To set or not to set? 26th November 2011 - exactly what it says What is it exactly that we're supposed to be preparing pupils for? 1st December 2011 - some thoughts on the purpose of education Why aren't we supposed to teach anymore? 28th November 2011 - I'm all for 'progressive' teaching, but has it all gone a bit too far? What's the point of lesson observations? 17th July 2011 - this is a rhetorical question... What's the point of INSET days? 20th August 2011 ...and another one... Differentiation: to do or not to do? 7th September 2011 - this, on the other hand, is a genuine question Teaching to the test 8th December 2011 - A rant about exam culture and a reaction to the Telegraph's exposé of 'cheating' Some thoughts on Learning Styles 5th December 2011  - my tuppence worth on VAK and similar Does group work work? 18th July 2011 And my answer Why group work works for me - 3rd October 2011 Exam analysis 28th August 2011 - Reflections on the importance of exam results Seating: sorted 26th August 2011 - My assertion that arranging desks in groups is better than rows Challenging Bloom's Taxonomy 24th August 2011 - It's not all it's cracked up to be Knowledge or skills? 11th september 2011 - Balance in all things Should we be teaching knowledge or skills? 2nd November 2011 - A grown up development of the previous post - the Guardian published it on GTN Easy vs Hard 16th September 2011 - The belief that good things will come to those who are prepared to work hard Questions every teacher should ask every day 18th September 2011 - A useful reminder about what we should be doing What's the point of homework? 4th September 2011 - Maybe not as much as some would have as think Is the starter finished? 3rd September 2011 - are four part lessons the only way? Team meetings: some stuff I've learnt 1st September 2011 - some thoughts on how meetings should (and shouldn't) be run

A number of posts on feedback & assessment

Work Scrutiny: what's the point of marking books? 27th January 2013 Making feedback stick 16th July 2012 - getting students to act on written feedback Feedback: it's better to receive than to give  20th February 2012 - why feedback often doesn't work Controlled assessment and why I hate it 28th October 2011 - A rant on controlled assessment The joy of marking - 27th October 2011 Is there a case for summative assessment? 19th September 2011 What can engineers teach us about assessment? 14th September 2011 Should we stop doing good things? 12th September 2011 If you grade it, it's not formative assessment 2nd September 2011 What's the point of assessment? 22nd August 2011 Formative assessment and the markscheme -23rd July 2011

Some 'how to' guides:

How to write an outstanding job application 27th August 2011 - Advice on how to go about applying for a new job How to make friends and influence people 29th August 2011 - Advice for new teachers and old lags alike How to fix your attitude 31st August 2011 - Carol Dweck & Mindset theory How to have a successful life 1st October 2011 - Phil Beadle's guide to happiness How to subvert target grades 15th january 2012 - You heard me! SOLO taxonomy training 30th January 2012 - Some stuff to get you started

Some posts about where I am and what I think about stuff

What's the point of classroom displays? 21st July 2013 Fireworks teaching - why less may sometimes be more - 15th July 2013 My Top 10 education blogs - 19th June 2013 This is how I work - 27th May 2013 - an interview with me. Building evidence into education - 14th March 2013 - thoughts on Ben Goldacre's paper on RCTs in education A reader's view on the teaching profession 28th February 2013 Why do so many teachers leave teaching? 27th February 2013 Houston, we have impact - The top 100 education blogs 4th February 2013 - on discovering this is the 26th highest impact education blog in the world! A Universal Panacea? My homage to Twitter 20th January 2013 So, what IS the point of INSET days? 6th January 2013 Of cabbages, round tables and kings 3rd November 2012 - Thoughts on the Head Teachers' Round Table A room of one's own 8th October 2012 - On the decline of the staffroom A year in the life of an English teacher 12th July 2012 - Reflections one year after starting the blog Why we should strive for perfection 26th June 2012 - It's the journey, not the destination... Slow Learning - allowing students to achieve mastery 24th June 2012 Teaching creativity vs teaching creatively 20th May 2012 - Can we teach creativity or should we settle for teaching creatively? The evils of Powerpoint 7th May 2012 Stress. How much is too much? 13th April 2012 High Performers 4th March 2012 - On reading Alistair Smith Reading List 16th February 2012 - Stuff I've been sent to read The 'practice' of teaching 16th January 2012 - On reading Hattie The problem with praise 27th January 2012 - Doubts about Dweck Creativity, analysis and comparison 11th February 2012 - On how to teach Emerging Leaders 20th July 2011 - On attending a leadership course The Learning Pyramid 8th October 2011 - On teaching myths Back to school 9th September 2011 - Reflections after my first day back in September Reasons to be cheerful 26th September 2011 - And midway through the term Awards Season 19th November 2011 - On being nominated for an Edublog Award Election Fever 6th December 2011 - Being silly about the Edublog Awards (in which I came nowhere!) What makes a perfect English lesson? 27th November 2011 - On being asked to write a book!

But is it art? - 5th November 2011- one of my favourites: is working hard work an art form?